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Livelihood Improvement

To improve the livelihood and protection needs of vulnerable families and their children, FSCE has endeavoured to give all the necessary support in terms of: trainings (business management, life skills, and cooperative management); development of business plan and provision of start-up finance; and counselling, coaching, mentoring and follow-up of targets. Hence, all the seven APOs have done their best to realize this objective. In the reporting period 440 poor families have been given business and cooperative management training and seed capital. Nine hundred and twenty marginalized youths and elder siblings have been given business management, cooperative management, and skills trainings. Moreover, the area program offices have been highly engaged in creating linkages between vocational trainees and the job market while providing others with seed capital to start up their own business as long as the business venture is viable and marketable. For instance, under the Bahir Dar area program office alone, a total of 802 marginalized children and youths were provided with short-term basic business skills, cooperative management and vocational trainings, which helped to improve their livelihood. Following the example of Tokuma Bikiltu Savings & Credit Cooperative, which was established in Dire Dawa and has become successful, another association of poor mothers called Sele-Enat Abay Mothers’ Savings and Credit Cooperative has been set up and shown remarkable progress with a capital in bank of Birr 84,367.33. The same practice is being emulated in Adama, Addis Ketema, and Dessie.

As a result of the support provided to the vulnerable families and youths, the following outcomes have been realized:

• The culture and size of savings have improved.

• The incomes (the target beneficiaries were able to double their income in three months’ time), capacities, and capabilities of target beneficiaries have increased.

• Access to decent, sustainable employment has been created for most vulnerable and marginalized families and children.

• Beneficiaries have been exposed to irreversible positive life experience.

• Hence, due to their parents’/elder siblings’ increased income, the children have been able to get better care and support, which in turn has been made possible by the livelihood promotion program of FSCE.

Apart from this, the self-help group is organized as a strategy to enhance the livelihood status of poor households and prevent their children from different abuses. FSCE adopted the self-help approach in 2013. Under this approach, women of the same living status and location and know each other are organized under one group so that they can save a small amount of money they can afford every week and start taking internal loans to raise their income by supplementing their petty business, to increase their social participation in the community they live in, and to be beneficiaries of basic services without discrimination. This would also help them to uphold their common interests and to be heard, thereby empowering. Members of the self-help groups are equipped with trainings (business management, positive parenting styles, self-help group formation, and cooperative management) and undertake community conversations and exposure visits in their peers.

The self-help approach (SHG) has been successfully utilized under the Dire Dawa and Akaki Kaliti area program offices. Currently, in the two area program offices 26 self-help groups have been set up and have 445 members. This scheme envisages helping 1001 children of the target beneficiaries, of which 530 are females. Moreover, members are able to send their children to school, fulfilling school materials, so that the children are prevented them from child labor exploitation. As a result of supporting the communities to be organized in self-help groups, the following outcomes have been realized: All the SHGs have continued to meet weekly and save fixed amounts of money, discuss their social problems, and share experiences. As a result of this, in Dire Dawa, their total capital has risen to birr 36,760.00 and one group has accumulated a capital of birr 7,425.00. Their total internal loan has reached birr 14,497.00. In Akaki Kaliti, their total capital has reached birr 41, 980 and one group has accumulated a capital of birr 7,080.00. Their total internal loan has reached birr 27,000.00. The trainings and community conversations have helped them to better understand the self-help approach and participate actively in their groups. It has also helped them to raise their children in such a way that they are protected from abuses and are given proper parental treatment. One such group have, in fact, managed to establish a water point in their locality in Dire Dawa and they are now able to get water easily and to save their time and labor. The attendance and achievements of their children at schools have also greatly improved.  In general, their social awareness has increased and, at the same time, they have been economically empowered and are able to win their daily bread.

FSCE APOs

Adama

Adama

Adama APO is implementing various projects around Adama town Preventive and support for sexually abused and exploited children: the program focuses on preventive and support programs for sexually abused and exploited children in order to facilitate the...

Addis Ababa

Addis Ababa is the capital city of Ethiopia. The city is divided into 10 sub cities and 99 ‘woredas’ (‘Kebeles’). Currently, more than 4.5 million people resides and it is a big and sprawling city. It is where the African Union and its predecessor...

Bahir Dar

Bahirdar is well known for its fabulous ecological attraction/natural beauty and strategic importance, which has made qualified to be a seat for the region’s government and the capital city of the Amhara regional state. Currently, it is one of the...

Dessie

Dessie is one of the antiques cities in the country which is over 100 years old. Geographically, the town is located 400 km. away from Addis Ababa along the road to Mekele. It is surrounded by a chain of mountains which is claimed to be the main...

Dire Dawa

Dire Dawa is one of two chartered cities in Ethiopia (the other being the capital, Addis Ababa). It is divided administratively into two Woredas, the city proper and the non-urban woreda of Gurgura. There are 24 urban kebeles and 28 rural peasants...